Hello there! We present some free events and activities for the weekend. Most of them are daily or weekly events so if you miss them this weekend you can experience them during another weekend or even another day. Don’t miss the “Chinese Festival: Paper, Painting and Performance” held at the V&A museum though! Here are the events in more detail:

start the weekend on Friday with the daily free, one-hour guided tours (11.30am & 2.30pm + 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays) of the National Gallery (highly recommended); on Fridays there is an extra, late, 7pm tour (the gallery closes at 9pm); a great way to spend your evening! Don’t miss the ones this Saturday with Leslie Primo; his tours are humorous, informative and inspiring!

alternatively, try the guided tours at the V&A museum: they are too free, last one hour and they are very inspiring. Introductory tours at 10.30am, 12.30, 1.30 and 3.30pm daily; Theatre and Performance Galleries Tour at 2pm (check at the museum as it doesn’t take place all the weekdays; it is safe to say that it’s on during the weekends)

If you haven’t done it before register online (before 6pm on Friday – one-off procedure) at parkrun and participate on Saturday at 9am. Parkrun is a free, 5K timed runs in various (42 so far!) parks in London (Brockwell, Crystal Palace, Finsbury, Richmond etc.) & the UK. Even if you don’t register you can still take part in the parkrun though your name will not be included in the results.

For those with children aged 2-5, consider storytelling sessions with a touch of music (Sunday, 10.30am & 11.30am – The National Gallery)

Finally don’t miss the “Chinese Festival: Paper, Painting and Performance” on Sunday at the V&A (12 noon – 5pm). There will be free, drop-in and available on a first come, first served basis activities and performances related to Chinese culture. Performances and activities include calligraphy, fashion, crafts (make your own decorative paper kite, create a Chinese opera mask, paper cutting, paper folding), music and dance. Some of the events are recommended for children (ages 3+). Click here for the full schedule of activities and performances (PDF document).

Have an exciting weekend!

To get the full list of events and all their details for the weekend (Friday, 17 January 2014 – Sunday, 19 January 2014), or to make plans for any future dates please scroll down to the calendar and click on the event(s) you are interested in.

Hello there! We present some free events and activities for the weekend. Most of them are daily or weekly events so if you miss them this weekend you can experience them during another weekend or even another day. Don’t miss the annual London Ice Sculpting Festival though! Here are the events in more detail:

start the weekend on Friday by visiting the London Ice Sculpting Festival 2014. Watch from 12 noon ice sculptors participating in competitions and try yourself (from 4pm to 8pm) to ice sculpt by attending 20-minute masterclasses (children must be 12+ to participate). All for free! On Saturday the Festival is open between 10am and 7pm and on Sunday from 12 noon to 6pm. Time to take some amazing pictures or video with your camera and impress yourself and your friends!

PLUS the daily free, one-hour guided tours (11.30am & 2.30pm + 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays) of the National Gallery (highly recommended); on Fridays there is an extra, late, 7pm tour (the gallery closes at 9pm); a great way to spend your evening!

If you haven’t done it before register online (before 6pm on Friday – one-off procedure) at parkrun and participate on Saturday at 9am. Parkrun is a free, 5K timed runs in various (42 so far!) parks in London (Brockwell, Crystal Palace, Finsbury, Richmond etc.) & the UK. Even if you don’t register you can still take part in the parkrun though your name will not be included in the results.

Have an exciting weekend!

To get the full list of events and all their details for the weekend (Friday, 10 January 2014 – Sunday, 12 January 2014), or to make plans for any future dates please scroll down to the calendar and click on the event(s) you are interested in.

Here is an idea for the film lovers; starting today (11 September) there will be free screenings of films at the Scoop at More London every week from Wednesday to Friday until the 27th of September.

This year the films to be screened include recent blockbusters like Skyfall and Les Misérables as well as classics like Hitchcock’s The Birds and Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

The films will be screened alfresco at the amphitheatre next to the City Hall (2A More London Riverside, London, SE1 2DB) so depending on the weather be well prepared and take warm clothes with you.

If we judge from previous years, most of the screenings are very popular (depending on the film and the weather) so we recommend you arrive at the amphitheatre an hour earlier if you want to secure a good seat. As you are aloud to bring food you can combine the screening with a sort of picnic.

Have also in mind that the idea is that you sit and watch the film on a concrete (cement) flat surface so if you think you will feel uncomfortable bring with you a cushion.

All screenings start at 7.30pm. Here is the full schedule:

September, 11 (Wednesday): Skyfall the latest Bond film (2012, with Daniel Craig and Judi Dench). Watch a trailer of the film here

On Fridays (but sometimes on Thursdays too), at 12 noon at the Café Consort (Door 12, Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AP) the Royal Albert Hall often features free lunchtime gigs called “Ignite” by rising (mostly jazz or folk) stars. The quality of the performances is high and in most cases you can be sure you will be listening to some great music. Aim to be there about 30 minutes earlier if you want to have a seat; some of the gigs are very popular and you could end up standing for the whole duration of the performance.

We have collected the free gigs to be held in May and June 2013 and we present them here. Enjoy!

On Fridays (but sometimes on Thursdays too), at 12 noon at the Café Consort (Door 12, Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AP) the Royal Albert Hall often features free lunchtime gigs called “Ignite” by rising (mostly jazz) stars. The quality of the performances is high and in most cases you can be sure you will be listening to some great music. Aim to be there about 30 minutes earlier if you want to have a seat; some of the gigs are very popular and you could end up standing for the whole duration of the performance.

We have collected the free gigs to be held in April and May 2013 and we present them here. Enjoy!

Hello there & happy new month! Here is a round-up of the free events held at The National Gallery in April:DAILY (and Friday evenings)Every day at 11.30am and 2.30pm there is a free introductory guided tour of the collection; lasts 1 hour. During the tour a Gallery lecturer will take a closer look at five to six paintings so that you can get an overview of the collection. Every Friday (the only day of the week the National Gallery stays open late until 9pm) there is an extra tour starting at 7pm. Don’t miss the ones on Saturday, 20 April, by Leslie Primo. He is humorous, informative and inspiring!

FOR CHILDRENOn Sunday mornings (10.30am & 11.30am) there are free interactive story sessions (last 30 minutes) inspired by pictures in the National Gallery for children aged 2-5 years. For children aged 5-11 years there are free creative workshops starting at 11am and 2pm (last between 80 minutes and 2 hours). Places are limited and allocated up to one hour before the event (children must be accompanied by an adult).

There are extra similar events on Monday 8 April and Tuesday 9 April 2013.

FOR FRIENDS OF MUSIC
There are free concerts/recitals on two Fridays this month (12 & 19 April) all starting at 6pm (they last one hour):

FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE
On Saturday 27 April (11.30am) there is a free description session of three landscape oil sketches by Frederic Church – “Niagara Falls, from the American Side”, “Winter Twilight from Olana” and “Floating Iceberg, Labrador” for blind and partially-sighted visitors. Meet at Sainsbury Wing Information Desk; advance booking recommended to guarantee a place: Tel: 020 7747 5855 Email: education@ng-london.org.uk

FOR DEAF, DEAFENED AND HARD OF HEARING PEOPLEOn Thursday 18 April (1pm) there is a free talk by Aliki Braine who will look at the general practice of sending artists out alongside explorers during the 19th century, together with the sketches produced by Balke during his epic journeys; with live speech-to-text transcription supported by STAGETEXT.

FOR CREATIVES & DOERS
If you like drawing there are free Talk & Draw sessions on Fridays (5, 12 & 19 April) starting at 1pm (last 1 hour) and an extra one on Friday 5 April at 6.30pm, where the participants join a lecturer and an artist in order to explore one of the paintings of the collection. Places are limited to 40 people on a first-come, first-served basis. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment. Firstly, the lecturer discusses the painting in a short talk and then the participants respond to the painting by making their own drawing. Materials provided (for free).

There is also a free Talk and Create event on Friday 26 April at 1pm where artist Jo Lewis will show the participants how to capture and experience the dynamic elements of light, movement and energy in Turner’s painting “Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway” through thinking and sketching quickly.

FOR THE BUSY ONESOn weekdays at 4pm there are free 10-minute talks/introductions to one painting each day (on a weekly basis). In April the paintings to be examined are:

For those interested in jazz, folk and world music, Djanogly Concert Pitch (Lyttelton foyer, National Theatre, London) has been offering for years free gigs. Musicians, singers and small ensembles showcase their talent, mostly to theatre goers, before the actual plays start. The atmosphere is informal, friendly and it is a great opportunity to discover hidden gems and listen to good music.

However, due to building work and refurbishment, foyer music is taking a break from April 2013 for at least 12 months. So we present here the scheduled gigs until the end of March, your last opportunity (for the time being!) to experience some free music at the National Theatre. Enjoy!

ALL THAT JAZZSeems that jazz is the dominant genre you can experience until the end of March at the foyer. Singers include: